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Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
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Reserve Maintenance Manual

Reporting Requirements


The Four Categories of Deposit Reporting

In this Section:

The Federal Reserve Board has established four categories of deposit reporting for administering Regulation D, Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions, and for constructing, analyzing, and controlling the monetary and reserve aggregates. Every institution is placed into one of these four categories for deposit reporting purposes.1 In general, the larger the institution, the more detailed and frequent its reporting.

Detailed vs. Reduced Reporting Categories

The first two reporting categories (categories one and two), characterized as "detailed reporting," apply to institutions that are not exempt from reserve requirements ("nonexempt" institutions). Institutions subject to detailed reporting file the Report of Transaction Accounts, Other Deposits and Vault Cash (FR 2900). These institutions file the report either weekly or quarterly, generally depending on the level of the institution's deposits.2 The report is used to calculate reserve requirements. (See Calculation of Reserve Balance Requirements.)

The last two reporting categories (categories three and four), characterized as "reduced reporting," apply to institutions that are exempt from reserve requirements ("exempt" institutions). Institutions subject to reduced reporting either file the Annual Report of Deposits and Reservable Liabilities (FR 2910a) or no report at all, depending on their deposit levels.

Report forms and instructions can be found on the Board of Governors' website. (www.federalreserve.gov/reportforms/default.cfm.)

Reporting Category Definitions

The boundaries of the four deposit reporting categories are defined by three measures: the exemption amount, the nonexempt deposit cutoff, and the reduced reporting limit.

Exemption amount. The amount of an institution's reservable liabilities that are subject to a 0-percent reserve requirement is used to make the distinction between detailed reporting and reduced reporting.3 In general, institutions with net transaction accounts greater than the exemption amount over prescribed periods are not exempt from reserve requirements and are subject to detailed reporting (categories one and two). Institutions with net transaction accounts equal to or less than the exemption amount over prescribed periods are exempt from reserve requirements and are subject to reduced reporting (categories three and four).

Nonexempt deposit cutoff. Categories one (weekly reporting) and two (quarterly reporting) are further defined by the nonexempt deposit cutoff.4

An institution with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the nonexempt deposit cutoff is assigned to weekly reporting, while an institution with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits less than the nonexempt deposit cutoff is assigned to quarterly reporting.

Reduced reporting limit. The reduced reporting limit provides an alternative means of defining category one (weekly reporting). Any institution with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the reduced reporting limit, regardless of the level of its net transaction accounts, is assigned to weekly reporting.

A depository institution's levels of net transaction accounts, total deposits, and total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits as of prescribed periods, measured against the boundaries that separate the reporting categories, determine the deposit reporting category into which the institution is placed. The Federal Reserve reviews membership in the four reporting categories annually and reassigns institutions among categories each September.5 The Reserve Banks notify institutions of any change in their reporting status. These shifts reflect movements in depository institutions' net transaction accounts, total deposits, or total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits across the prevailing category boundaries. Annual Determination of Reporting Category (also later in this section) describes the specific periods used to measure an institution's net transaction accounts, total deposits, and total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits against the category boundaries to determine the institution's placement in the appropriate reporting category.

Detailed Description of the Four Reporting Categories (effective September 2013)

This section describes the four reporting categories. Table 2.1 shows the exemption amount, the nonexempt deposit cutoff, and the level of the reduced reporting limit that will take effect with the September 2014 reporting category assignments.

Category one (weekly): Depository institutions (other than banking Edge and agreement corporations and U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks) with net transaction accounts greater than the exemption amount and with a sum of total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the nonexempt deposit cutoff, or with a sum of total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the reduced reporting limit, regardless of the amount of net transaction accounts, will be required to submit the FR 2900 weekly.

Banking Edge and agreement corporations and U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks, regardless of size, must also submit the FR 2900 weekly. They are not eligible for reporting categories two through four.

The weekly reporting period for the FR 2900 covers the seven-day period beginning on Tuesday and ending the following Monday.

Category two (quarterly): Depository institutions with net transaction accounts greater than the exemption amount and with a sum of total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits less than the nonexempt deposit cutoff are required to submit the FR 2900 once each quarter, in March, June, September, and December.

The quarterly reporting period for the FR 2900 covers the seven-day period beginning on the third Tuesday of the reporting month and ending the following Monday.

Category three (annual): Depository institutions with net transaction accounts less than or equal to the exemption amount and with total deposits greater than the exemption amount but with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits below the reduced reporting limit are required to submit the FR 2910a. This report is filed as of June 30 each year.

Category four (nonreporters): Depository institutions whose net transaction accounts and total deposits are less than or equal to the exemption amount are not required to submit any Federal Reserve deposit report as long as data on the level of an institution's deposits are readily available on a condition report.6

Institutions for which deposit data are not readily available on a condition report will be required to submit the FR 2910a report to determine the appropriate reporting category.

Table 2.1. Deposit reporting categories, September 2014-September 2015

Nonexempt Institutions (Detailed Reporting) Net transaction accounts > $13.31 million OR Sum of total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits ≥ $1.7192 billion Exempt Institutions (Reduced Reporting) Net transaction accounts ≤ $13.31 million AND Sum of total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits < $1.7192 billion
Category 1 (Weekly Reporters3) Category 2 (Quarterly Reporters) Category 3 (Annual Reporters) Category 4 (Nonreporters4)
Sum of total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits ≥ $306.7 million5

File the 12-item FR 2900 report each week, and 3 annual items on each June 30

 Sum of total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits < $306.7 million5

File the 12-item FR 2900 report one week, each quarter, and 3 annual items on Monday of the June report week

 Total deposits > $13.31 million

File the 3-item FR 2910a report each June 30

 Total deposits ≤ $13.31 million
Do not file an FR 2900 or FR2910a

1. Exemption amount. Return to table

2. Reduced reporting limit. Return to table

3. Banking Edge and agreement corporations and U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks report weekly, regardless of size. Return to table

4. If data on the level of an institution's deposits are not readily available on a condition report, the institution is required to submit the FR 2910a. Return to table

5. Nonexempt deposit cutoff. Return to table

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Federal Reserve Annual Determination of Reporting Categories

In this Section:

The Federal Reserve Board (with verification by the Reserve Banks) determines the placement of institutions in appropriate reporting categories, and the Reserve Banks inform each institution of its particular reporting requirement. These determinations are made each July and become effective in September, as described below.7

Institutions Currently Reporting the FR 2900 Weekly

For institutions that report weekly (described below), the reporting category is determined by an institution's net transaction accounts and total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits (weekly averages of daily data) over a 13-week cycle that ends the last full reporting week in June of the current year.

  1. An institution with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the reduced reporting limit for any one of the 13 weeks, regardless of their level of net transaction accounts, will continue to submit the FR 2900 on a weekly basis.
  2. An institution with net transaction accounts greater than the exemption amount for any one of the 13 weeks and with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the nonexempt deposit cutoff for any one of the 13 weeks will continue to submit the FR 2900 on a weekly basis.

  3. An institution with net transaction accounts greater than the exemption amount for any one of the 13 weeks and with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits less than the nonexempt deposit cutoff for each week of the 13 weeks will continue to submit the FR 2900 as follows:

    1. The institution will continue to report on a weekly basis through the reporting week that begins on either the first or the second Tuesday in September of that year, depending on which is the second week of a reserve computation period for weekly reporters.
    2. The institution will then submit the FR 2900 on a quarterly basis, starting with the quarterly reporting period that begins on the third Tuesday in September.
  4. An institution with net transaction accounts less than or equal to the exemption amount and with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits less than the reduced reporting limit for each of the 13 weeks will continue to submit the FR 2900 on a weekly basis through the reporting week that begins on either the first or the second Tuesday in September, depending on which is the second week of a reserve computation period for weekly reporters. Thereafter, the institution will no longer be required to submit the FR 2900. Rather, the institution is provisionally shifted to the FR 2910a reporting category. Reexamination of the institution's reporting status will occur the following year based on its total deposits as reported in its condition report or, if the condition report is not readily available, based on a filing of the FR 2910a report.

Institutions Currently Reporting the FR 2900 Quarterly

For institutions that report quarterly, the reporting category is determined by an institution's net transaction accounts and total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits (weekly averages of daily data) on the FR 2900 quarterly report for the weeks that begin on the third Tuesdays of March and June of the current year.

  1. An institution with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the reduced reporting limit for either of the two weeks, regardless of their level of net transaction accounts, will submit the FR 2900 on a weekly basis, rather than on a quarterly basis. Weekly reporting will start with the report week that begins on either the second or the third Tuesday in September of the current year, depending on which is the first week of a reserve computation period for weekly reporters.
  2. An institution with net transaction accounts greater than the exemption amount for either of the two weeks, and with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the nonexempt deposit cutoff for either of the two weeks will submit the FR 2900 on a weekly basis, rather than on a quarterly basis. Weekly reporting will start with the report week that begins on either the second or the third Tuesday in September of the current year, depending on which is the first week of a reserve computation period for weekly reporters.
  3. An institution with net transaction accounts greater than the exemption amount for either of the two weeks and with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits less than the nonexempt deposit cutoff for both weeks will continue to submit the FR 2900 on a quarterly basis.
  4. An institution with net transaction accounts less than or equal to the exemption amount for both of the two weeks and with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits less than the reduced reporting limit for both of the two weeks will no longer be required to submit the FR 2900. Rather, the institution is provisionally shifted to the FR 2910a reporting category. Reexamination of the institution's reporting status will occur the following year based on its total deposits as reported in its condition report or, if the condition report is not readily available, based on a filing of the FR 2910a report.

Institutions Currently Reporting the FR 2910a Annually

For institutions that report using the FR2910a, the reporting category is based on an institution's net transaction accounts and total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits (single-day data) on the FR 2910a for June 30 of the current year.

  1. An institution with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the reduced reporting limit, regardless of their level of net transaction accounts, will submit the FR 2900 on a weekly basis. Weekly reporting will start with the reporting week that begins on either the second or the third Tuesday in September of the current year, depending on which is the first week of a reserve computation period for weekly reporters.
  2. An institution with net transaction accounts greater than the exemption amount and with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits greater than or equal to the nonexempt deposit cutoff will submit the FR 2900 on a weekly basis. Weekly reporting will start with the reporting week that begins on either the second or the third Tuesday in September of the current year, depending on which is the first week of a reserve computation period for weekly reporters.
  3. An institution with net transaction accounts greater than the exemption amount and with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits less than the nonexempt deposit cutoff will submit the FR 2900 on a quarterly basis, starting with the reporting week that begins on the third Tuesday in September of the current year.
  4. An institution with net transaction accounts less than or equal to the exemption amount and with total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits less than the reduced reporting limit will be reexamined the following year based on its total deposits as reported in its condition report or, if the condition report is not readily available, based on a filing of the FR 2910a report.

Nonreporters

An institution not reporting previously may be asked to submit a filing of the FR 2910a as of June 30 to determine its appropriate reporting category. Such institutions would include those whose reports of condition filed with a federal supervisory agency or with a state regulator, or similar information, indicate their deposit levels have reached or exceeded the exemption amount; and those institutions for which no data are available and, therefore, whose deposit levels are unknown.

Any institution asked to submit a filing of the FR 2910a is then subject to the reporting category review of that year under procedures described above for regular FR 2910a reporters.

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Where, How, and When to Report

Where to report. All depository institutions, whether maintaining reserves directly with the Federal Reserve or in a pass-through arrangement, must submit their deposit reports to the Reserve Bank for the District in which they are located.

A foreign bank's branches and agencies located in the same state and within the same District must submit an aggregated FR 2900 report to the Reserve Bank for the District in which they are located. A foreign bank's branches and agencies located in the same state but in different Districts must submit separate FR 2900 reports (aggregated by District) to their respective Reserve Banks.

How to Report. Institutions may file in one of three ways: by electronic transmission, fax transmission, or by mail. Please consult with your Reserve Bank contact about filing options. A list of Reserve Bank contacts for help with reporting is available on the Federal Reserve Bank Services website Leaving the Board .

When to Report. Table 2.2 provides a summary of the reporting periods for the FR 2900 and FR 2910a.

Table 2.2. When to Report, by Category

Report Reporting Period
Weekly (FR 2900) Daily items reported: Tuesday through Monday -- Each week
Three FR 2900 annual, single-day items reported: June 30 (one day each year)
Quarterly (FR 2900) Daily items reported: Tuesday through Monday -- One week periods beginning with the third Tuesday in March, June, September, and December (four weeks each year)
Three FR 2900 annual, single-day items reported: Monday of the June report week (one day each year)
Annually (FR 2910a) June 30 (one day each year)

Revising FR 2900 Reports

From time to time, as a result of routine edit and validity checks, Reserve Bank staff may contact a depository institution and request a review of FR 2900 data. On such occasions, the Reserve Bank will provide the institution with instructions on how to file revised reports, if necessary. If, on the other hand, an institution discovers an error or errors in data previously submitted, it should notify its Reserve Bank contact promptly about the nature of the errors and the periods affected. Reserve Bank staff will then inform the institution whether revised data will be necessary.


References

1. Depository institutions that are required to maintain reserves are defined in section 204.1(c) of Regulation D. Classes of institutions subject to deposit reporting include commercial banks, industrial banks and similar institutions, mutual or stock banks, building or savings and loan associations, homestead associations, credit unions, banking Edge and agreement corporations and their branches, and U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks.  Return to text

2. Deposit levels are measured at the close of business each day. The level of deposits recorded for any day on which the depository institution is not open is the end-of-day level from the preceding business day on which that institution was open.  Return to text

3. The Federal Reserve Act (as amended by the Garn-St. Germain Depository Institutions Act of 1982) established the exemption amount. It was set originally at $2.0 million and is indexed annually by 80 percent of the percentage increase in total reservable liabilities of all depository institutions measured on an annual basis, as of June 30. No adjustment is made for a decrease in total reservable liabilities.  Return to text

4. The Federal Reserve Board determines the nonexempt deposit cutoff. The Federal Reserve Board indexes the cutoff annually to grow at 80 percent of the June-to-June growth rate in total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits at all depository institutions. Consistent with rules governing indexing the exemption amount, if total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits decline in that period, the Federal Reserve Board will make no downward adjustment to the nonexempt deposit cutoff through the indexing process. On occasion, the Federal Reserve Board has increased the nonexempt deposit cutoff beyond its indexed level.  Return to text

5. Toward the end of each year, the Federal Reserve Board publishes in the Federal Register the revised exemption amount, nonexempt deposit cutoff, and reduced reporting limit figures that will be used for determining the reporting category reassignments to take place in September of the next calendar year.  Return to text

6. A condition report refers to either the commercial bank and thrift Consolidated Reports of Condition (FFIEC 031 and 041; OMB No. 7100-0036) or the credit union Statement of Financial Condition (NCUA 5300/5300SF; OMB No. 3133-0004).  Return to text

7. A Reserve Bank may require a depository institution to report on a more detailed or more frequent basis prior to the annual determination of reporting categories if the institution begins to exhibit faster-than-normal growth in its total transaction accounts, savings deposits, and small time deposits.  Return to text

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Last update: November 25, 2013